Yarra Ranges Council is developing a five year Library Strategy and Action Plan which will be important in shaping the future of our libraries. Through the Yarra Ranges Views Online forum we are seeking community input on their current library service and what they believe their library should look like in the future. Discussion leaders will help to encourage conversations with thought provoking questions and comments.
The feedback received from the online forum will help in the development of a Library Strategy. The draft Library Strategy will go out for public comment and focus groups will also be held to discuss. in detail the input received from the community.
The forum will open on Monday 29th November and will close on Friday 10th December. Feel free to share this post to encourage participation in this important discussion. You don't need to be residing in the Yarra Ranges to have your say in the future of our library service.
You can have your say on Your Library – Now and into the future!
Cheers, Maryanne
1 comment:
I would not like to see ERL change too much. The core strength of the library remains the richness and freshness of the book collection; as our professional libraries become overwhelmingly digital, it is a source of great pleasure to be able to borrow actual books - and in such numbers!
Similarly, please don't "dumb down" the classification scheme through broadly-grouped popular headings as it is much harder to track down items located through the catalogue.
Perhaps libraries of the future will use "smart tags" to locate individual books or shelves through a catalogue interface accessible by mobile phone thus freeing up the terminals.
Keeping some key libraries located in serene public spaces (such as the Ferntree Gully reserve) is also priceless (a fantastic meeting space and joy to visit).
Suggested changes:
- please shorten the period in which new magazines stay on shelf (content is sometimes outdated before one can take them home - Xmas recipes, IT advice).
- an Amazon-type system in which readers rate or comment on books and suggest similar authors they enjoyed?
- this one is a huge ask: projects such as GOV2 promoting participatory-policy-making start to blur the boundaries between "experts" and "stakeholders", demanding a much more highly informed population. I would like to see general access to databases and online journals currently accessible only to tertiary students and staff. Think of this as a national public library network with a mega-subscription to key digital resources in multidisciplinary areas (such as the social sciences - very specialised publications would not be relevant). Each quantum leap in access to information which brought higher levels of public literacy has generated qualitative shifts in social organisation.
The accompanying belief that everyone has a right to the resources which support self-education would have a huge impact on the tertiary education sector.
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